Facts about life on Sulfurous
Sulfurous is a inhospitable planet on the edge of the Solar System. Weird, mutated versions of earth creatures live here, including strange offshoot humanoids called incubi and succubi (collectively called Ubi). Habitat The climate is hot and dry all year round. There is a constantly erupting supervolcano that keeps the sky dark all the time. The air is made of tons of sulfur, hence the planet’s name. The terrain is barren and rocky, and the sun is blocked out by clouds of smoke. The colonies and tribes live on opposite sides of the planet, and they are divided by a long strip of inhospitable barren wasteland. The diameter of the planet is slightly smaller than Earth. There are only a few lifeforms remaining that have become mutated in order to survive the harsh environment. Notable creatures that live on the surface appear to be mutated, dark purple pigs resembling wild boars, and strange jet black mollusks with multiple tentacles that slither across the ground. Although, thousands of years ago, the planet used to have an Earth-like atmosphere and a lot more plants and animal species before a mass extinction occurred due to the supervolcano explosion. Flora None Fauna * Dark purple pigs that the Ubi hunt and consume the meat of, and use their skins to make clothing. Appear to be the main food source. They are very aggressive in the wild, but can be tamed to pull carriages and guard entrances. Milla keeps one as a pet. * Jet black mollusks with multiple tentacles, and no other facial features except for a huge mouth which they use to devour prey whole. Usually move by slithering on the ground. They are hunted only by the most experienced hunters and their tentacles used to make alcoholic beverages for the next mating party. The males are only about half a meter tall, and they can be seen wandering around trying to look for food. The female is rarely seen since she lives in a cave and is 200 times the size of the male, and she absorbs her mates and victims into her body. Inhabitants The sapient, humanoid creatures look like normal humans but with a few differences. Notes * They can grow to be over seven feet tall. Males tend to grow to be over 2 meters tall, while females are close to their height. * They have a mainly carnivorous diet consisting of the pigs and other small animals, due to the fact that plants are rare. * Live together in tribes. Also some have a serious inbreeding problem. More on that below. * Stronger than humans * Have keratin horns on their heads that constantly grow and need to be trimmed. The larger the horns, the more advanced in age the individual is. Babies and psychics do not have horns. * Children are completely covered up until they reach puberty. If they do not grow horns they are revealed to have psychic powers and are taken away instantly to serve the Queen. * Have poisonous bites * Have a caste system * Have better eyesight in the dark. * Have a polytheistic religion, where they worship multiple genderless deities. The Queen's acolytes On Sulfurous, certain individuals are born with special powers, but no discernable gender and are biologically sterile. This is revealed when they do not grow horns after a specific period of time. There are also the sexless eunuchs that serve the Queen. The former are held up to the standards of Gods, led by the Godhead, Iliana. These individuals are considered higher than the commoners with no powers. Jawje is one such individual although he doesn't consider himself a god. The Queen The Queen is the only individual capable of reproducing without a father which is critical to ensure the race's survival lest there be another extinction event or war. She is regularly putting out female children, one which may succeed her one day. However, the latest Queen refused to share her royal jelly with her offspring, leaving no heirs behind. Culture and Society It appears that their culture has not evolved past the Stone Age. The lower ranking individuals are dressed very plain while the higher ranking members have tattoos and body modifications like earrings. They make tools out of rocks. They live in caves and if some of them are intelligent enough, houses built by their own hand. Most of them live sparsely enough to prevent them from all being annihilated in a mass genocide. In some tribes, inbreeding is a severe problem which causes them to die out faster than usual. Language There are two main languages, the more colloquial common language spoken by the regular people and the ancient tongue that only the Queen and her acolytes understand. The ancient tongue is only spoken telepathically and requires math to understand. It is very hard to learn and commoners usually have little to no exposure to it. Lifespan The children are born hairless, blind and with no horns. They are mostly covered up and their gender remains ambiguous until their gender reveal party when they hit puberty. The parents hold no affection to their children and will not hesitate to abandon them if they look weak, such as Jawje’s birth parents that he never knew. Sometimes a child never grows horns and has psychic powers, which is an extremely rare event that happens only once every 1000 years. Such children are believed to be the reincarnation of a God and are whisked away instantly to serve the Queen. Upon puberty the young individual must prepare for their gender reveal. The gender reveal party is more of a brutal rite of passage than an actual party, as the young individual must walk across hot embers before the elders to prove their worth. Then they are branded with a tattoo to prove that they succeeded and are worthy. Males are fed different meals than females to promote their growth. Every couple of years depending on the favorability of the season, the adults have a mating season where everyone gets drunk on tentacle venom and have a giant party where several females get impregnated. There doesn’t seem to be any sort of marriage ritual, such as the fact that Amos had 5 mates and 20 children between them. During the other months of the year, it is unfavorable for child rearing as they constantly have to fight for survival. Thus, multiple children are born at the same time in cohorts, and raised until they are mature enough to fend for themselves and contribute to the tribe. During this event the adults all leave the main area to do the thing, leaving all the children with their sterile caregivers and the elders. If there is an ongoing war or famine, this event may get skipped over completely for more than 10 years. After the event, the pregnant females are segregated away in a special building to prevent them from being attacked by predators or rival tribes. When they give birth, they briefly examine the children to see if there are defects then go straight back to hunting. The elders do most of the childrearing and the babies are raised together. Only the most powerful and productive individuals make it to old age. Since the landscape of Sulfurous is so harsh, many die before their time from accidents, wars, starvation, burns or predators. When a highly revered individual dies, their heads and jewelry are repurposed while the rest of their body is cremated in the volcano. It appears they prefer to quickly dispose of their dead as soon as possible as a decomposing Ubi releases toxic gases. Interbreeding Dangers Originally, humans thought it was safe to interbreed with them, until an alien disease started spreading rapidly through the ranks through an infected individual who had a sexual encounter. The males carry an ebola like virus while the females carry something like Fournier gangrene. Both are fatal and led to death within months. Religion They have a polytheistic religion where they worship a revolving roster of Gods led by the one Godhead, the Queen. They believe that children born with psychic powers belong to the Godhead herself. This belief system was badly shaken when Queen Iliana died and left behind no heirs. They found themselves worshipping Jawje for a while, but Jawje told them it’s time for a change. Caste System There appears to be some sort of unspoken caste system. The most common are the regular non psychic individuals that are capable of breeding. They do not have any special rights, and have to be present for the Queen’s rituals every month. They consist of the majority of the population on Sulfurous. Notable individuals include: Jude, Milla, Amos and Ira. The second most rare individuals are the individuals born with psychic powers. This is an event that only happens once every 1000 years. Such children are instantly taken away to serve the Empress as her acolytes and enjoy special privileges. There are usually only 2-3 acolytes alive at the same time. A notable acolyte is Jawje. The highest class, the Godhead, consists of only one individual which is the Queen. She has absolute power over everything and is immune from any consequences. She has the most powerful psychic abilities and can manipulate magnetic fields. Every month she hosts rituals which is basically just a giant festival proclaiming how great she is, and the people must offer her gifts in order to secure their own survival. There are also a class of eunuchs, sterile and genderless servants that only exist to serve the Empress for their whole lives. They are considered to be lower than the commoners as they are slaves their whole lives. It is rumored that they belonged to an outside alien species that the Queen once conquered, and now their descendants must serve as slaves. One notable eunuch is Qui, who tried to revolt against the system. Outside contact The inhabitants have rarely seen any offworld individuals, due to strict border controls imposed by the Queen. During a secret project in the 2020’s, a group of researchers landed on the barren strip of wasteland to search for life, and shortly after broadcasting a message that there was no life, they lost contact and were never heard from again. Notable Citizens of Sulfurous * Jawje * Jude * Milla * Amos * The Empress Gallery Scary piggy.png|A creepy pig Tentacle monster.png|The tentacle monster Sketch-1563250737367.png.jpg|Adult alien ALIEN BABY.png|Baby Category:Sulfurous